What can I tow with my Honda Odyssey?

[Bluzmar]

We have a 2013 Honda Odyssey and are interested in getting our first camper. Getting a new vehicle is not an option, and we have 3 small children. So far I have only looked at pop ups, but I just found a 17' hybrid trailer on Craigslist that I am interested in. The trailer's total dry weight (including the hitch) is 2716 and its GVWR is 3826. It does have a hitch/weight distribution system and an anti-sway bar.

I know the Odyssey can tow 3500#. It has a V6 engine and we plan to get a cooler for the transmission. (And for the power steering too? Is that necessary?) Would it be reasonable to assume that we would keep the weight under 3500 on the trailer, or is that cutting it too close? The van is fairly new and we do want it to last a long time! We live in Florida where it is flat, but we would like to travel all over and be able to drive on mountain roads. (Nothing crazy or off road of course; just your typical family trip to the Smokies for example.). Would this trailer be doable or should we stick with a popup around 1800#?

[rsaylor3]

We had a 2010 odyssey with the factory towing package for four years. We bought it new and put just over 100,000 miles on her. During that time I towed a 2006 17' key west boat very often. Probably averaged 5-6 trips per month with the average drive being 25-30 miles each way to the boat ramp. Several trips to Miami from Central Florida as well.

It towed great! The rear independent suspension added further comfort to the tow. Never did I have problems with the temps, engine or transmission. I did have to change out the brake rotors twice and resurfaced all the time. Those vans like to eat them anyway.

Now after moving to a truck and a travel trailer, I would tell you to stay with a pop up for sure. I would not want to tow a taller travel trailer with the van even it it was light weight.

A pop up will be a comfortable tow for the entire family. We almost bought one ourselves when we had the van.

Good luck and make sure you change out the tranny fluid often.

[brulaz]

kellertx5er wrote:

bikendan wrote:

N-Trouble wrote:
Pop-up

Ditto.
Also a full height trailer's frontal area will exceed the Honda's max.

Anyone ever seen published tow vehicle ratings for a trailer's frontal area?

Ford's Trailer Towing guide has them for all models.
12 sq ft for the Mustang,
40 sq ft for the Flex or Explorer with Tow Package.
That's probably the closest to the Odyssey.

The F150 varies according to tow package and whether 5th wheel or not.

[kellertx5er]

bikendan wrote:

N-Trouble wrote:
Pop-up

Ditto.
Also a full height trailer's frontal area will exceed the Honda's max.

Anyone ever seen published tow vehicle ratings for a trailer's frontal area?

[IdaD]

Terryallan wrote:

Bluzmar wrote:
Thanks everyone. After reading all of this, I think we will stick with a PUP. I looked at my owner's manual again and it says there is a towing limit of 3,050# when you have five passengers. Of course, that's assuming everyone weighs 150# and my kids certainly don't, but throw in some car seats and all their stuff and maybe we're there.

I had not thought about the height of the trailer and gas mileage. A scamp sounds nice and I did find an RPod on Craigslist, but I don't think any of them would sleep a family of 5 comfortably.

IdaD wrote:

Then when you get to the campsite your wife and kids are free to get in the trailer immediately to start cooking dinner or get their toys out or whatever while you disconnect, drop the stabliizers, and etc.

I suppose the one downside to not getting a trailer is that my *husband* can't get inside immediately to start cooking my dinner. 😉

They wouldn't be going into the TT either. have to move the TT, and raise, and lower the tongue to level. Can't be inside while all that is going on. I believe you have made the right choice.

And there are pups with auto raising roofs. One Fleetwood model would even slide out the bunk ends automatically. Camping with a pup really is a breeze

Once you have the TT/FW leveled side to side and chocked there's no reason people can't be inside while you disconnect it and get it leveled front to back. I do it all the time.

You are correct that some PUPs are faster to set up than others. Mine is a relatively larger model (Fleetwood Bayside) with a manual top, kings on both ends and a slide. To be honest my biggest beef with the PUP isn't so much setting it up at the campground, it's the process of having to set it up and take it down before you leave, then at the campground and a third time when you get home (unless you empty it at the campsite and it's fully dry when you put it down). Those moments when you'd like to grab something quick from the trailer but realize it's stored in a drawer near the back and you can't get to it without opening it at least part of the way can be annoying too.

Again PUPs aren't all bad by any means, and for OP being in Florida and with an Odyssey TV, a PUP is probably the best choice. We just kind of outgrew ours over the years.

[marquette]

My wife and I had a pup for about 5 yrs and as far as set up I can say it set up faster when I took it alone hunting than when I had help. So speed of set up or take down is a organizational skill. Enough said on that issue. You will find lots of help on the pup forum on ideas for a pup. My observation on them is that they are not created equal. Ease and type of set up varies by manufacturer, storage varies,etc. so find what works for you.

[jerem0621]

Bluzmar wrote:
Thanks everyone. After reading all of this, I think we will stick with a PUP. I looked at my owner's manual again and it says there is a towing limit of 3,050# when you have five passengers. Of course, that's assuming everyone weighs 150# and my kids certainly don't, but throw in some car seats and all their stuff and maybe we're there.

I had not thought about the height of the trailer and gas mileage. A scamp sounds nice and I did find an RPod on Craigslist, but I don't think any of them would sleep a family of 5 comfortably.

IdaD wrote:

Then when you get to the campsite your wife and kids are free to get in the trailer immediately to start cooking dinner or get their toys out or whatever while you disconnect, drop the stabliizers, and etc.

I suppose the one downside to not getting a trailer is that my *husband* can't get inside immediately to start cooking my dinner. 😉

Wonderful!

Here is an inside shot of our PUP...lots of room and our trailer has a GROSS weight under 3,000 lbs!



I do a lot of the cooking too, our PUP has an outside grill and I will be bringing my Coleman high stand and Coleman stove so we can do ALL the cooking outside. Good luck in your shopping.

Go visit a few dealers with PUP's and when you decide what you want...do not compromise, stick to your guns and the layout you want will POP up :).

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[BurbMan]

kvangil wrote:
Your decision to go with a PUP is a good one. Considering the size of the TT that you may have been able to tow, you'll find that your family of 5 will enjoy the space of the PUP more than they would in a 16-17' TT. We had a PUP for 9 years with 4 small kids and just 2 years ago went to a HTT. The PUP was plenty sufficient. The compromise on long road trips is we'd hotel it instead of setting up camp for one-nighters.

X2

There is a lot of room in all but the smallest pop-ups, much more so than a small travel trailer. The hard-sided TT gives you more options for camping in cooler temps, but since you live in FL, you'll easily get 4 season use from a pop-up since most have A/C and furnaces now.

If you're traveling more than a day away it's easy to stop at an inexpensive motel as a layover.

[kvangil]

Your decision to go with a PUP is a good one. Considering the size of the TT that you may have been able to tow, you'll find that your family of 5 will enjoy the space of the PUP more than they would in a 16-17' TT. We had a PUP for 9 years with 4 small kids and just 2 years ago went to a HTT. The PUP was plenty sufficient. The compromise on long road trips is we'd hotel it instead of setting up camp for one-nighters.

[Terryallan]

Bluzmar wrote:
Thanks everyone. After reading all of this, I think we will stick with a PUP. I looked at my owner's manual again and it says there is a towing limit of 3,050# when you have five passengers. Of course, that's assuming everyone weighs 150# and my kids certainly don't, but throw in some car seats and all their stuff and maybe we're there.

I had not thought about the height of the trailer and gas mileage. A scamp sounds nice and I did find an RPod on Craigslist, but I don't think any of them would sleep a family of 5 comfortably.

IdaD wrote:

Then when you get to the campsite your wife and kids are free to get in the trailer immediately to start cooking dinner or get their toys out or whatever while you disconnect, drop the stabliizers, and etc.

I suppose the one downside to not getting a trailer is that my *husband* can't get inside immediately to start cooking my dinner. 😉

They wouldn't be going into the TT either. have to move the TT, and raise, and lower the tongue to level. Can't be inside while all that is going on. I believe you have made the right choice.

And there are pups with auto raising roofs. One Fleetwood model would even slide out the bunk ends automatically. Camping with a pup really is a breeze

[Bluzmar]

Thanks everyone. After reading all of this, I think we will stick with a PUP. I looked at my owner's manual again and it says there is a towing limit of 3,050# when you have five passengers. Of course, that's assuming everyone weighs 150# and my kids certainly don't, but throw in some car seats and all their stuff and maybe we're there.

I had not thought about the height of the trailer and gas mileage. A scamp sounds nice and I did find an RPod on Craigslist, but I don't think any of them would sleep a family of 5 comfortably.

IdaD wrote:

Then when you get to the campsite your wife and kids are free to get in the trailer immediately to start cooking dinner or get their toys out or whatever while you disconnect, drop the stabliizers, and etc.

I suppose the one downside to not getting a trailer is that my *husband* can't get inside immediately to start cooking my dinner. 😉

[Fordlover]

2oldman wrote:

Bluzmar wrote:
.. we plan to get a cooler for the transmission. (And for the power steering too? Is that necessary?)

Power steering gets hot??

It's a hydraulic system with (relatively) high pressures, you bet it gets hot. Although unless going from lock to lock over and over (like trying to wiggle sideways from a very tight parallel parking space) I wouldn't worry about the PS system, and wouldn't bother installing a cooler. I'm more worried about the transmission, which is far more expensive to replace.

[tcp]

A lot of people have jumped in here, but how many have actually towed a travel trailer with a minivan? How much misinformation about GVWR and GCWR is being put out there. I have towed our fun finder and 18ft hybrid through western canadian mountains for years. It's not the nightmarish scenario everyone makes it out to be and I was always within the numbers spec'd by Toyota on our Sienna.

The Sienna weighed 4200 Lbs. it had a GVWR of 5850lbs and a GCWR of 8700 lbs. it had a hitch rating of 350lbs weight bearing and 525 weight distributing ( from the owners manual...on a unibody vehicle, heaven forbid...the new Durango and jeep GC are unibody rated to tow up to 7000lbs, as is the Toureg, etc). I used a scan gauge to monitor transmission temps, water temp and never overheated anything...including long runs over Rogers Pass, coquahala pass, etc.

Run the numbers on your van and test pull it, if you can. Our van is 10yo now and doesn't tow the trailer anymore, but if the truck had issues, I wouldn't hesitate to hitch up the van again instead of missing a camping trip.

[mtofell1]

I agree the pop-up is the way to go. In addition to the truck I use to two my TT I have an Odyssey as a family vehicle. I wouldn't want to tow much more than a pop up with it. Like someone mentioned it's not only the weight but the wind resistance. Also, when calculating out the max payload don't forget all the stuff in the van. These vans can hold a bunch of people and things.

There's something my dealer told me once that kind of went in one ear and out the other (since I own a truck to tow with). He said if an Odyssey rolls into their dealership with a receiver hitch and not Honda "blessed" tow package, your tranny warranty is voided. This is regardless of what you are at the dealership for. They "flag" you in the computer and you are out of luck. Again, this just came from one service guy so verify it on your own if you like. And the main point is if you plan on doing any towing it's probably worth a call to Honda to make sure everything is done right (if you're still under warranty, of course).

[rexlion]

Regardless of which type of trailer is faster to set up or more convenient, the fact remains that a TT that can sleep 5, on longer trips to mountains, will be too much for the minivan. Not only will the TT be very close to (if not over) 3500 lb when loaded for camping, the hitch weight will probably be in the 400 lb to 500 lb range by that time... WAY too much. And the minivan's GVWR may be exceeded if the OP tries to keep a lot of the stuff in the van instead of in the trailer.

As much fun as a TT might be, a popup will get the same camping job done and is much more practical behind that minivan.

And I've been there and done that. I even towed a 13' egg trailer about 2000 miles with a '84 Dodge Omni 2.2L with stick shift, back when I was young and foolish. Somehow I managed to not ruin the car or anything.

Now, someone mentioned a Scamp. I do know someone who is very happily towing a 16' Scamp all over North America with their Oddy. Weight and hitch weight would be no problem, and wind resistance is much less than a conventional squarish TT. The problem would be finding a way to sleep 5 inside a Scamp! Maybe a Scamp plus a tent... 😉